[Introduced February 16, 2012; referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]

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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §17A-6D-16, relating
to motor vehicle administration; daily passenger rental car
business; and allowing rental vehicle contracts to include a
vehicle licensing cost recovery fee.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §17A-6D-16, to read as
follows:

(2) "Vehicle license cost recovery fee" means a charge on a
vehicle rental transaction originating within this state that is
separately stated on the rental agreement to recover vehicle
license costs.

(b) Method for vehicle cost recovery.

(1) If a daily passenger car rental company includes a vehicle
license cost recovery fee as a separately stated charge in a rental
transaction, the amount of the fee shall represent the company's
good-faith estimate of the daily passenger rental car daily charge
to recover its actual total annual vehicle license costs.

(2) If the total amount of the vehicle license cost recovery
fees collected by a daily passenger rental car company under this
section in any calendar year exceeds the company's actual vehicle
license costs, the daily passenger car rental company shall:

(A) Retain the excess amount; and

(B) Adjust the vehicle cost recovery fee for the following
calendar year by a corresponding amount.

(c) Nothing in this section may prevent a daily passenger car
rental company from including, or making adjustments during the
calendar year to, separately stated surcharges, fees or charges in
the rental agreement, which may include, but are not limited to,
vehicle license cost recovery fees, airport access fees, airport
concession fees, consolidated facility charges and all applicable
taxes.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow rental vehicle
contracts to include a vehicle licensing cost recovery fee.

§17A-6D-16 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.